El Sol Latino | December 2015 | 12.2

December 2015

Volume 12 No. 2

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

The

Jones-Shafroth

Un Peri贸dico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Act

Puerto Rico, Military Service, and American Citizenship Pictures courtesy of Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera

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Editorial/Editorial

contents

¡Felicidades!

Happy Holidays!

A nombre de la familia de El Sol Latino queremos desearles una Feliz Navidad y un Próspero Año Nuevo! Agradecemos a todos nuestros amigos y patrocinadores el apoyo que nos siguen brindando.

On behalf of El Sol Latino family we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We are truly grateful to all our friends and sponsors for the support that you all continue to show us.

Foto del Mes/Photo of the Month

Reconocen a José Colón

Foto por MFR. Diosdado López, presidente de la Familia Hispana Inc., José Colón, Director del Programa de Arco Iris en Nueva Esperanza, Anthony Soto, concejal por el Barrio 2 de Holyoke, y el músico y cantante René Robles

2 Editorial / Editorial ¡Felicidades!

3 Portada / Front Page Dr. Franqui-Rivera on Puerto Rico, Military Service, and American Citizenship 4 Dr. Franqui-Rivera sobre Puerto Rico, Servicio Militar, y la Ciudadanía Americana 5 ACLU Calling for Release of Oscar López-Rivera 6 The Illusion of Inclusion? President Obama’s Latino Political Appointments 7 Tinta Caliente / Hot Ink 8 Opinión / Opinion Why are the poor, poor?

The Politics of Division 9 The White Racial Innocence Game 11 ¿Qué Pasa en...?

12 Educación / Education Encuesta del idioma hablado en el hogar 13 Música / Music Heshima Moja – Music and Politics 14 Literatura / Literature El Diario de Mi Niña 15 Salud / Health Vacúnese AHORA contra el Influenza Holyoke Medical Center Receives BabyFriendly Designation

Cita del Mes/Quote of the Month Founded in 2004 n Volume 12, No. 2 n December 2015

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Editor Manuel Frau Ramos manuelfrau@gmail.com 413-320-3826 Assistant Editor Ingrid Estrany-Frau Managing Editor Diosdado López

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2015

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Dr. Franqui-Rivera on Puerto Rico, Military Service, and American Citizenship

by MANUEL FRAU RAMOS Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans are a hot topic once again. You can regularly find some kind of news about the economic and fiscal crisis of Puerto Rico, or about the high number of residents that are leaving the island, or a book review, opinion pieces, or an article about Nelson Denis controversial book, War Against All Puerto Ricans on media outlets across the nation, especially in the east coast. On social media you can easily find many individuals and groups actively participating in the discussion of some of these issues.

Another important article about Puerto Rico is the one titled, “‘A New Day Has Dawned for Porto Rico’s Jíbaro’: Manhood, Race, Military Service and SelfGovernment during WW I” by Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera, a historian and Research Associate at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York, and published this year in the academic Journal of Latino Studies.

The Office of the Secretary of War presented an alternative solution suggesting a selective citizenship approach where islanders who were educated or owned business or land could get U.S. citizenship.

Also, projects to grant American citizenship to the Puerto Ricans were presented before Congress in 1912 and 1913. President William Howard Taft and later President Woodrow Wilson, as well as the federal appointee governor of the Island, George Colton (1909-1913), and his successor, Arthur Yager (1913-21) supported this initiative.

Franqui-Rivera also pointed out that the support for American citizenship to the Puerto Ricans shown by federal institutions and “opinion-making groups in the mainland, responded to both local and international considerations.” According to him, there were three interconnected reasons why Washington was in favor of the passing of the Jones Act, and of course, granting US citizenship to Puerto Ricans - Puerto Rico’s domestic politics, the U.S. was preparing to enter in the European war, and world geopolitics.

On the eve of World War I, the island’s political situation was changing rapidly and not necessarily in favor of American political and economic interests. FranquiRivera pointed out that the organization of the Independence and Socialist parties “highlighted the growing discontent with American rule in Puerto Rico.”

The island was considered by the U.S. War Department as a key component in the defense of the Panama Canal and essential to keeping American hegemony in the Circum-Caribbean. In case of war, social-political stability in Puerto Rico was essential. For this reason, pro-citizenship advocates lobbied in Washington that citizenship would serve to quell the increasing discontent against American rule.

On the international political level, Franqui-Rivera highlighted the contradiction between Woodrow Wilson’s international progressive agenda and Puerto Rico’s political status. Wilson wanted to position himself as a world moral leader with his “ New Diplomacy” approach “based upon the principles of the equality of nations, and self-determination.” However, the island’s colonial status was not a showcase for these principles.

Photo by MFR. Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera

One of the main points of this article is Franqui-Rivera’s new interpretation of why the U.S. Congress enacted the Jones-Shafroth Act, better known as the Jones Act, on March 2, 1917. This law created an elective bicameral legislature, provided for the election of the Puerto Rican representative to Congress (Resident Commissioner), served as the island’s de facto constitution until 1952, and extended the controversial American citizenship to the residents of Puerto Rico.

Franqui-Rivera, in a recent lecture titled “Citizen Soldiers: Myth and Truths Behind the Jones Act, Puerto Rico and World War I” at the Holyoke Public Library on November 14, 2015, exposed a new and interesting interpretation of the Jones Act. For a long time many have argued that the granting of American citizenship to the residents of the Island was related to the immediate need for soldiers as the U.S. was preparing to enter World War I. This has been the generally accepted interpretation of the reasons that led to the Jones Act. At the beginning of his presentation, Franqui-Rivera stated that, “Such a belief has been enshrined in Puerto Rican popular national mythology to the point that it is taken as an almost irrefutable fact. Puerto Ricans, popular wisdom maintains, were invested with citizenship so they could become cannon fodder for the metropolis’ wars.”

Franqui-Rivera started to dismantle this popular interpretation of the American citizenship issue explaining that it was part of a larger and more complex political dynamic between USA and PR that went beyond any simple explanation.

“Citizenship was one of the many provisions included in the Jones Act and the result of years of constant negotiations between the new metropolis and its Caribbean colony. Reducing the issue of citizenship to a need for manpower for the military only obscures complex imperial-colonial relations built and predicated upon racial structures of power,” he said.

He pointed out that as early as 1900 the issue of the American citizenship was a topic of conversation within the power circles in Washington, especially among military and policy makers. Theodore Roosevelt consistently proposed it. The War Department studied the possibility of granting citizenship to the Puerto Ricans.

It was clear that the Woodrow Wilson administration believed that by granting citizenship and some measures of self-government to Puerto Ricans would effectively address the Puerto Rican problem.

On December 7, 1915, President Wilson asked Congress to solve the Puerto Rican question by granting them a higher degree of self-government. “More importantly, Wilson tied the passing of the Jones Act being drafted to national security and defense preparedness. He argued that it was also a matter of credibility; the world was watching whether the U.S. was serious about selfdetermination and freedom,” stated Franqui–Rivera.

The Jones Act became law on March 2, 1917.

On April 6, 1917, the Unites States declared war on Germany. One month later, Congress passed the Selective Service Act calling for all males between the ages of 18 and 32 to fill out registration. Although Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico where excluded, the Puerto Rican Legislature asked Congress to extend the draft to the island.

Photo by MFR. Slide of the 1st Registration Day from Franqui-Rivera’s Power Point presentation at the Holyoke Public Library

Puerto Rican support of the war effort was overwhelming. According to FranquiRivera, 104,550 Puerto Ricans showed up the first draft day to register for military service, eventually 236,853 men inscribed for selective service and 17,855 were called to service. Only 139 men did not report for duty. Puerto Ricans responded favorably and in great quantities to the draft. However, most of the island’s military

continued on page 9

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El Sol Latino December 2015

Dr. Franqui-Rivera sobre Puerto Rico, Servicio Militar, y la Ciudadanía Americana por MANUEL FRAU RAMOS

Puerto Rico y los puertorriqueños son un tema caliente, una vez más. Usted puede encontrar regularmente algún tipo de noticias sobre la crisis económica y fiscal de Puerto Rico, o sobre el elevado número de residentes que están abandonando la isla, o una reseña de libro, artículos de opinión, o un artículo sobre el controversial libro de Nelson Denis Guerra Contra todos los puertorriqueños en los medios de comunicación de todo el país, especialmente en la costa este. En los medios de comunicación social, usted puede fácilmente encontrar un gran número de personas grupos que participan activamente en conversaciones sobre algunos de estos temas.

por Washington en la isla, George Colton (desde 1909 hasta 1913), y su sucesor, Arthur Yager (desde 1913 hasta 1921) apoyaban esta iniciativa.

Franqui-Rivera también señaló que el apoyo a la ciudadanía americana para los puertorriqueños evidenciado por las instituciones federales y los “grupos de opinión de decisiones en la parte continental, respondía a consideraciones tanto locales como internacionales.” Según él, habían tres razones interconectadas por las cuales Washington se mostraba a favor de la aprobación de la Ley Jones, y por supuesto, la concesión de la ciudadanía americana a los puertorriqueños - la política interna de Puerto Rico, los Estados Unidos se estaban preparando para entrar en la guerra europea, y la geopolítica mundial.

Otro artículo importante sobre Puerto Rico es el titulado, “‘A New Day Has Dawned for Porto Rico’s Jíbaro’: Manhood, Race, Military Service and Self-Government during WW I” del Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera, historiador e investigador asociado del Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños en Hunter College, City University de Nueva York, publicado este año en la revista académica Journal of Latino Studies.

En vísperas de la Primera Guerra Mundial, la situación política de la isla estaba cambiando rápidamente y no necesariamente a favor de los intereses políticos y económicos de lo americanos. Franqui-Rivera señaló que la organización de los partidos Independentista y Socialista “destacó el creciente descontento con el control americano de Puerto Rico.”

Uno de los principales puntos de este artículo es la nueva interpretación que realiza Franqui-River sobre por qué el Congreso de Estados Unidos promulgó la Ley Jones-Shafroth, mejor conocida como la Ley Jones, el 2 de marzo de 1917. Esta ley creó una legislatura bicameral electiva, preveía la elección de un representante (Comisionado Residente) de Puerto Rico ante el Congreso, sirvió como constitución de facto de la isla hasta 1952, y extendió la polémica ciudadanía estadounidense a los residentes de Puerto Rico.

La isla era considerada por el Departamento de Guerra de los Estados Unidos como un componente clave en la defensa del Canal de Panamá y esencial para mantener la hegemonía norteamericana en el región del Caribe. En caso de guerra, la estabilidad socio-política en Puerto Rico era esencial. Por esta razón, los defensores de la ciudadanía presionaron en Washington que la ciudadanía serviría para aplacar el creciente descontento contra el control americano de la isla.

Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera

Franqui-Rivera, en una charla reciente titulada Soldados Ciudadanos: Mito y Verdades Detrás de la Ley Jones, Puerto Rico y la Primera Guerra Mundial en la Biblioteca Pública de Holyoke el 14 de noviembre de 2015, expone una nueva e interesante interpretación de la Ley Jones.

Durante años, muchos han argumentado que la concesión de la ciudadanía americana a los residentes de la isla estaba relacionada con la necesidad inmediata de soldados cuando los Estados Unidos se preparaban para entrar en la Primera Guerra Mundial. Esta ha sido la interpretación generalmente aceptada sobre las razones que llevaron a la Ley Jones. Al comienzo de su presentación, Franqui-Rivera declaró que, “Esta creencia ha sido consagrada en mitología popular nacional de Puerto Rico a tal punto que la misma se toma como un hecho casi irrefutable. Los puertorriqueños, de acuerdo a la sabiduría popular, fueron investidos con la ciudadanía para que pudieran llegar a ser carne de cañón para las guerras de la metrópoli.”

Franqui-Rivera comenzó a desmantelar esta interpretación popular sobre la ciudadanía americana explicando que era parte de una dinámica política más grande y más compleja entre Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico que iba más allá de una simple explicación. “La ciudadanía fue una de las muchas disposiciones incluidas en la Ley Jones y el resultado de años de negociaciones constantes entre la nueva metrópoli y su colonia del Caribe. La reducción del tema de la ciudadanía a una necesidad de mano de obra para los militares sólo oscurece las complejas relaciones imperio-colonial construidas y predicadas sobre estructuras de poder basadas en raza,” dijo.

El señaló que ya para comienzos del 1900 la cuestión de la ciudadanía americana era un tema de conversación en los círculos de poder en Washington, especialmente entre los militares y políticos. Theodore Roosevelt consistentemente la propuso. El Departamento de Guerra estudió la posibilidad de conceder la ciudadanía a los puertorriqueños. La Oficina del Secretario de Guerra presentó una solución alternativa sugiriendo una ciudadanía selectiva donde los isleños que tuvieran educación formal o fueran dueños de negocios o tierras podían obtener la ciudadanía americana.

Además, proyectos para concederle la ciudadanía americana a los puertorriqueños se presentaron ante el Congreso en 1912 y 1913. El presidente William Howard Taft y más tarde el presidente Woodrow Wilson, así como el gobernador designado

En el plano político internacional, Franqui-Rivera destacó la contradicción entre la agenda progresista internacional de Woodrow Wilson y el estatus político de Puerto Rico. Wilson quería posicionarse como un líder moral a nivel mundial con su agenda “Nueva Diplomacia” “basada en los principios de la igualdad de las naciones, y la autodeterminación.” Sin embargo, el estatus colonial de la isla no era un modelo de estos principios.

Estaba claro que el gobierno de Woodrow Wilson creía que mediante la concesión de la ciudadanía y algunas medidas de autogobierno a los puertorriqueños enfrentaba con eficacia el problema de Puerto Rico.

El 7 de diciembre de 1915, el presidente Wilson le pidió al Congreso resolver la cuestión de Puerto Rico mediante la concesión de un mayor grado de autogobierno.

“Más importante aún, Wilson empató la aprobación de la Ley Jones que estaba en sus etapas iniciales a la seguridad y defensa nacional. Sostuvo que también era una cuestión de credibilidad; el mundo estaba observando si los Estados Unidos tomaba en serio la autodeterminación y la libertad,” declaró Franqui-Rivera.

La Ley Jones se convirtió en ley el 2 de marzo de 1917. El 6 de abril de 1917, los Estados Unidos le declararon la guerra a Alemania. Un mes más tarde, el Congreso aprobó la Ley de Servicio Selectivo llamando a todos los varones entre las edades de 18 y 32 para registrarse. Aunque Alaska, Hawaii y Puerto Rico estaban excluidos, la Legislatura de Puerto Rico le pidió al Congreso extender el reclutamiento militar a la isla.

El apoyo puertorriqueño al esfuerzo de guerra fue abrumador. Según FranquiRivera, 104,550 puertorriqueños se presentaron a registrarse para el servicio militar el primer día, eventualmente 236.853 hombres se inscribieron para el servicio selectivo y 17,855 fueron llamados al servicio. Sólo 139 hombres no se presentaron rendir servicio militar. Los puertorriqueños respondieron favorablemente y en grandes cantidades al reclutamiento militar. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los militares de la isla sirvieron en asignaciones de apoyo o fuera de combate, debido al hecho de que el Departamento de Guerra consideraba el frente de batalla como un trabajo exclusivo para las tropas blancas.

En resumen, Franqui-Rivera concluyó en su presentación, “que concederle la ciudadanía americana a los puertorriqueños serviría varios propósitos - desde traer estabilidad socio-política a una posesión de importancia estratégica a medida que la metrópoli se alistaba para la guerra, hasta ayudar a mejorar la imagen de los Estados Unidos en América Latina y dándole credibilidad a la “Nueva Diplomacia” del Presidente Wilson y sus planes para poner fin a la guerra.” Y, los “planes para utilizar la población de la isla para fortalecer los ejércitos de la metrópoli no eran parte de las bases lógicas para darle la ciudadanía americana al pueblo de Puerto Rico. Tal acción-al igual que la concesión de una ciudadanía no colonial a los nacidos en la isla- hubiera socavado las narrativas raciales y de género detrás de la estratificación racial interna y la unidad imperial de Estados Unidos.”

Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2015

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ACLU Calling for Release of Oscar López-Rivera November 12, 2015 Sally Quillian Yates Deputy Attorney General of the United States U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Deborah Leff Pardon Attorney 145 N Street N.E. Room 5E.508 Washington, D.C. 20530

the Bishop of the Methodist Church; and the Ecumenical and Interreligious Coalition of Puerto Rico. Editorials from the Island’s main daily newspaper have also recognized Mr. López-Rivera’s ongoing imprisonment as a flagrant violation of human rights.

Re: Oscar López-Rivera, 87651-024, FCI Terre Haute Dear Ms. Yates and Ms. Leff: We write to ask you to urge President Obama to exercise his constitutional power of pardon to commute the disproportionate sentence and order the immediate release of Oscar López-Rivera, who has served more than 34 years in U.S. prisons related to his commitment to the self-determination of Puerto Rico.

The American Civil Liberties Union is a nationwide nonprofit nonpartisan organization with a membership of more than 500,000 members of diverse political persuasions; all dedicated to defending and preserving the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and the laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country. Consistent with our longstanding commitment to just and fair sentencing, the ACLU strongly believes that Mr. López-Rivera’s disproportionate prison sentence serves no purpose consistent with merciful and compassionate justice. Mr. LópezRivera is currently 72 years old.

We support commutation for Oscar López-Rivera because of the strength of the civil rights and human rights issues his case represents. Mr. LópezRivera, who was not convicted of a crime of violence, is serving a 70 year sentence, which President Clinton determined to be disproportionate when in 1999 he commuted the sentences of most of Mr. López-Rivera’s codefendants. While all commuted co-defendants are living productive, law-abiding lives, Mr. López-Rivera will be 80 years old by the time he is eligible for release in 2023.

We are moved not only by our commitment to compassionate and just sentencing, but also by the consensus in Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican communities in the United States supporting Oscar Lopez-Rivera’s immediate release, including the current and former governors of Puerto Rico, belonging to both major political parties; the House and Senate of Puerto Rico; the president, chancellor and Academic Senate of the University of Puerto Rico; the Puerto Rico Bar Association; the College of Physicians and Surgeons; the Archbishop of San Juan and the Conference of Bishops;

We are also impressed by the breadth of support within the United States, including the New York City Council; the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the Hispanic National Bar Association; many unions (AFL-CIO, SEIU, AFSCME, and LACLAA) and churches, including the United Church of Christ, whose president made a pastoral visit to Mr. López-Rivera; President Jimmy Carter; and the late Coretta Scott King.

Support on the international level is equally as impressive, including the United Nations Decolonization Committee; the presidents of many Latin American nations and regional organizations; as well as many Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchú, José Ramon Orta, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Mairead Corrigan, and Jody Williams.

Many have called Mr. López-Rivera the Nelson Mandela of Latin America, in light of his conviction for seditious conspiracy, his more than 12 years in solitary confinement, his profound and unshakeable commitment to his people, and the dignity with which he has weathered more than 34 years in prison. His continuing incarceration serves no legitimate penological objective, and there is no danger to the community in releasing him, as the Governor of Puerto Rico observed following his state visit to Mr. LópezRivera in prison – the first such visit in the history of Puerto Rico.

An immediate commutation of Mr. López-Rivera’s sentence would be wholly consistent with the President’s expressed respect for the legacy of Mr. Nelson Mandela, himself imprisoned for 27 years on charges of seditious conspiracy. It would also be consistent with the President’s laudable launching of Clemency Project 2014 and the recognition that the constitutional power of pardon is the appropriate remedy to correct the injustice of disproportionate sentencing. It would also reinforce the Justice Department’s commitment to reform the criminal legal system.

The ACLU would welcome Mr. López-Rivera’s commutation as an appropriate human rights and civil rights gesture.

Respectfully,

Anthony D. Romero Executive Director American Civil Liberties Union

William Ramirez Executive Director ACLU of Puerto Rico

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2015

The Illusion of Inclusion? President Obama’s Latino Political Appointments

by ANGELO FALCÓN (November 15, 2015) It has been well-documented that Latinos are the most underrepresented group in the federal government work force --- although 18 percent of the country’s population, Latinos make up only 8 percent of federal government employees.

While this continues to be a long-term problem no matter which political party occupies the White House, in the shortterm one avenue for addressing it has been putting pressure on whoever is President to correct this exclusion through his political appointments. However, the assessment of a President’s Latino appointments record has been largely based on anecdotal evidence about individual appointments as they are made.

So, for example, President Obama’s early historic appointment of Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic member of the United States Supreme Court provided the impression that this administration’s appointments of Latinos was being responsive to the Latino community and seemed gender balanced.

However, these impressions have never been systematically examined.

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a Washington, DC-based coalition of 40 of the country’s leading national Latino civil rights organizations, created in 2013 what they referred to as a “first-of-itskind” talent bank and program, made possible by a grant from The Ford Foundation. Its purpose is to support entry- to candidate level Latino professionals interested in serving as presidential appointees in President Barack Obama’s Administration. The NHLA Latino Federal Appointments Project reports on the number of Latino appointments made but has not yet analyzed what percentage of the White House’s appointments Latinos constitute, making it difficult to assess the project’s impact on the underrepresentation problem.

To begin to address this question, the National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP) conducted a preliminary analysis of all of President Obama’s appointments since taking office in 2009. This listing of White House nominations and appointments, compiled by Socrata, consisted of a total of 1,572 appointments, as of September 28, 2015. A count of Spanishsurnamed appointees yielded a total of 110 Latino appointments, which represents 7.1 percent of the total. While using Spanish-surname as an indicator of Latino identity has its limitations, it is a good indicator of the Latino presence on this list. It should also be noted that our analysis does not take into account those named who have left their positions.

Our finding that Latinos make up only 7.1 percent of the Obama Latino appointments since 2009 points to the persistence of the Latino underrepresentation problem in the federal work force. If the Latino community has expressed strong concerns about making up only 8 percent of total federal government employment, the fact that President Obama’s political appointments are below this figure should be cause for even greater alarm. It appears that despite the general perception, the appointments process has not been a useful avenue to address the Latino underrepresentation problem in policy level positions and has, in fact, simply reinforced this inequality.

What has been the pattern of Latino appointments over time? Our analysis reveals that over the 2009 to 2015 period, the number of Latino appointments has generally increased.

The pattern that emerges is one in which Latino appointments peak in the year preceding a Presidential election, with its lowest following the election cycle. Latino appointments during this period varied from a low of 5 in 2012 to a high of 26 in 2011.

What percentage of total appointment did Latinos represent in each year? On this basis, Latino appointments made up a low of 4.9 percent of total appointments in 2010 and a high of 9.5 percent in 2011. Please note that the figure for 2015 only covers the first nine months of the year. Overall, the pattern seems to respond to the election cycle and the evidence appears to be that the creation of the NHLA Latino Federal Appointments Project in 2013 has had the effect of establishing a steady increase in Latino appointments.

This would indicate that this type of direct intervention can have a positive effect, although it has not been able to overcome the general Latino underrepresentation problem.

As mentioned above, the early appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court by President Obama gave the impression that the administration was especially sensitive to the need for greater Latina women’s representation.

However, our analysis reveals that Latina women comprised only 28 percent of President Obama’s Latino appointments. There is, therefore, a need to continue to make the equitable inclusion of Latina women a priority for the Latino community.

Finally, we looked at which federal agencies had the most Latino appointments. By far the largest number of Latino appointments was to the federal judiciary (33), the Department of State (12) and the Justice Department (11). A further analysis of this distribution of Latino appointments as a percentage of total appointments of each agency would be useful but beyond the scope of our current analysis.

This analysis of President Obama’s record of Latino appointments is only preliminary and will require further refinement and development. It points to the need for research that allows for an objective assessment of the effects direct interventions are having in affecting policy. To do so would require a comparison with previous administrations.

There is, therefore, a need to go beyond general perceptions based on anecdotal evidence that could be misleading as evidence of progress being made, a phenomenon dubbed by some as the “illusion of inclusion.”

The bottom line of this analysis is that the Obama Administration has, unfortunately, not had a discernable impact on the extreme Latino underrepresentation in federal government employment.

El Sol Latino December 2015

OT TINTNAT E H INK CAr MLanIueEl Frau Ramos

En Holyoke… ¿estarán los días contados para Nueva Esperanza?

Dos diferentes fuentes han confirmado que se han estado llevando a cabo conversaciones informales entre la organización comunitaria Nueva Esperanza y otra organización no latina de la ciudad con el propósito de fusionarlas. Tomando en cuenta que Nueva Esperanza es una parte importante de la historia y de la lucha política de la comunidad Hispana de Holyoke, nos imaginamos que la Junta de Directores hará publico muy pronto qué es lo que está pasando.

Po

Holyoke ... are Nueva Esperanza’s days numbered?

Two different sources have confirmed that informal conversations have been taking place between the community organization Nueva Esperanza and another non-Latino city organization for the purpose of merging. Considering that Nueva Esperanza is an important part of the history and the political struggle of the Hispanic community in Holyoke, we imagine that the Board of Directors will soon make public what is happening.

In Holyoke…Who was the first-ever Puerto Rican city solicitor?

According to a story published in The Valley Advocate on November 9, 2015, mayor Alex Morse said, “In my first term we had the first-ever Puerto Rican city solicitor.” If he is referring to the first-ever female Puerto Rican city solicitor Elizabeth Rodríguez Ross, then he is right. However, the first-ever Puerto Rican city solicitor was Kenneth J. Cote (retired), born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

En Holyoke ... ¿Quién fue el primer abogado/a puertorriqueño/a de la ciudad?

Según un artículo publicado en The Valley Advocate el 9 de noviembre de 2015, el alcalde Alex Morse dijo, “En mi primer término, nombramos el primer abogado de la ciudad de origen puertorriqueño.” Si se está refiriendo a la primera mujer abogada puertorriqueña Elizabeth Rodríguez Ross, entonces el alcalde tiene razón. Sin embargo, el primer abogado puertorriqueño de la ciudad fue Kenneth J. Cote (retirado), nacido en Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

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Opinión / Opinion

El Sol Latino December 2015

The Politics of Division by DAVID YOS | jdyos@hotmail.com

Why are the poor, poor?

November 23, 2015

by MIGUEL ARCE and WALTER MULLIN

It isn’t so much that those in key political offices shape our culture, as is commonly believed, but that they are reflections of it; in fact, electoral success usually falls to those who are most adept at doing so.

Why are poor people poor? Why can’t they pursue the American dream the same way that many others do? With constant news story about resilient people who have made their way out of poverty, why don’t the rest of poor people do the same thing?

Accordingly, it isn’t really about the individual candidates, except perhaps on the most visceral level, so things such as qualifications and job performance aren’t that important.

Simply being reactive to ones opponent accomplishes little; instead one must find a way to connect with the public. Unfortunately, that can often amount to telling people what they want to hear, even if they know full well it isn’t factually correct, or even desirable.

Of course there have long been divisions in Holyoke along ethnic, political and economic lines, the latest being between homeowners and renters. Just as long there have been those willing to exploit that division, in the past more openly, now much more hypocritically and cynically; that is, purporting to be with those on the disadvantaged side of the divide, while mainly serving the interests of the advantaged one.

This divisive culture also involves a sense of dependency and hopelessness, an intolerance for a diversity of political views, in which differences of opinion on the issues are answered with personal attacks, and there is a certain contempt for ethical behavior; for instance, at several precincts this last election day there were a number of people from out of state inquiring about where to vote, but we’re made to feel it’s too impolite to question that.

The city could hardly be more polarized; either thing have never been more wonderful, or terrible, depending on ones perspective.

Yet despite all that, I believe that things are very close to getting better, if for no other reason than they can’t get much worse. The flip side to all the division at the collective level is that almost nowhere else are people so caring and willing to help someone on a personal level, regardless of politics, or wherever he or she comes from; that is the aspect of our culture a candidate ought to tap into.

Instead of the longtime landowner and the impoverished newcomer here seeking a better opportunity being cast as adversaries for limited resources, we could see a path to an economic expansion that will benefit them both.

And perhaps our many citizens, particularly within the Latino community, who feel nothing’s ever going to change, and their votes are worth nothing more than a few dollars, could instead realize the incredible value and potential those votes actually hold.

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Call us today at (413) 320-3826 Dr. Franqui-Rivera on Puerto Rico, Military Service, continued from page 3 and American Citizenship servicemen served in support or non-combat assignments due to the fact that the War Department considered fighting as a job exclusively for White troops.

In summary, Franqui-Rivera concluded in his presentation, “that granting Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship would serve many purposes- from bringing socio-political stability to a strategically important possession as the metropolis ready itself for war, to helping improve U.S.’ image in Latin America and giving credence to President Wilson’s “New Diplomacy” and plans to end the war.”

And, the “plans to use the island’s population to boost the armies of the metropolis were not part of the rationale for granting U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico. Such action- just like granting a non-colonial citizenship to those born in the island- would have undermined the racial and gender narratives behind domestic racial stratification and the U.S. imperial drive.”

As the next presidential campaign heats up, the candidates will discuss programs and policies geared to help people who live in poverty. Embedded in these discussions, often disguised in political rhetoric, will be the views of each candidate on the reasons that poor people are poor. The public learns more about the candidate and comes to understand the nature of poverty by taking time to reflect on the solutions they propose. For example, in 2012, when running for president, Mitt Romney referred to the idea that 47% of people would vote for Barack Obama because they held a belief that the government had to take care of them with entitlements. He said these same people do not pay income taxes and they do not take personal responsibility for their lives. Like Romney from 2012, this view is still repeated in today’s political discourse: most frequently by those who have done well financially.

It is a position of looking down on others and lacking a true understanding of life in poverty.

Consistent with this, is the claim that poor people build their lives to live on government benefits and are rewarded for not pursing work. In this view, poor people are seen as not having any investment in working their way out of poverty. This way of thinking leads to negative attributions such as that poor people are lazy, uneducated, mentally ill, and wanting to take tax money that ought to be used for other projects. When using this perspective, people living in poverty are set aside as different, as if not to be important citizens of the United States. This way of thinking is to claim that poverty is attributed to the individual and inherent defects in the person’s abilities or Credit: Springfield College - Walter Mullin and Miguel Arce. biological endowment.

When the discussion about poverty is framed with a focus on individual or group characteristics, it is a diversion from the facts that poverty is an economic problem. It misses the reality that the American economy is based on a distribution of wealth with a small number of people being wealthy, a large number of people managing well enough and a proportion of the population living without resources. Since the American economy is based on competition, it is clear that some get to hold more wealth than others and they get to make decisions about the way wealth will be dispersed to the others. When they are business owners, they get to decide on the amount of money to pay for work or the type of schedule their employees will have to work to stay employed. Overall, however, it is a given that some people will perform better in a competitive economy than others. Some people will be given privileges to move up the economic ladder. In a straightforward capitalist economy, someone will always end up being poor.

Resilient people are remarkable. Because of their inherent characteristics and because of the support they receive from their families and communities, they move out of poverty. They fight a battle and draw upon their strengths. It is always heartwarming to hear their stories. We lose the real appreciation for knowing about them, however, when the story turns back as a criticism of those who have not been as fortunate. If we forget that poverty is about economics, we confirm a destructive discourse that does not serve the poor or does not serve the country.

Walter Mullin, PhD (wmullin@springfieldcollege.edu) is a Professor at the School of Social Work at Springfield College. Miguel Arce MSW (marce@springfieldcollege.edu) is an Associate Professor at the School of Social work at Springfield College.

Opinión / Opinion The White Racial Innocence Game

by EDUARDO BONILLA-SILVA November 12, 2015 Just one day after a successful student movement forced a college president to resign, the “collective white” is playing the racial innocence game and blaming people of color for the racial climate on college campuses across the nation. Whether at Yale or Mizzou, most whites believe that students and faculty of color are “hypersensitive,” playing “the race card,” and censoring (mostly) innocent white students and administrators.

Yesterday morning, for example, Joe Scarborough savaged two black journalists from the Washington Post who are regulars in his MORNING JOE show. He demanded they explain to him why the President of Mizzou had to resign for two “isolated incidents” (he actually used this phrase).

Scarborough argued that there is no evidence of “systemic racism” at Mizzou and that the ousted President had agreed to the demand of establishing an ethnic studies requirement (faculty reading this post know these requirements have been in place in many colleges since the 1980s or early 1990s). Since Eugene Robinson and Jonathan Capehart did not answer Mr. Scarborough’s questions in a cogent way and since Mr. Scarborough’s questions represent, in my view, how most whites interpret events in college campuses, I want to take some time to explain how systemic racism operates in HWCUs (historically white colleges and universities).

First, whites need to understand that most colleges and universities in the USA are white-oriented and white-led. This is why I call them HWCUs and, as I have argued many times in my FB (Facebook) posts, these institutions reproduce whiteness through their curriculum, culture, demography, symbols, traditions, and ecology. The white innocence game begins with the assumption that these spaces are racially neutral, but that assumption is false! HWCUs were 100% white institutions until very recently and that white history shaped them in profound ways. The admission of a few people of color in the late 1960s and 1970s into HWCUs—and I must point out that their admission was because people of color protested and demanded inclusion—did not lead to their “integration,” a concept that involves much more than spatial cohabitation. In fact, many ways whites, the W in HWCUs, have remained central to their organization and culture. We were brought into these places as guests with the expectation that we would not ask for anything else—we have been for a long time but few dots of color in otherwise white canvasses. (As an aside, part of the white innocence game is the belief by whites that we are ungrateful for all they have done for us; for all they have given us over the years. To this “white sincere fiction” (Feagin and Vera, White Racism), given that we fought for our freedom and partial inclusion in America, I say, “Thank you massa!”)

Second, whites were not, and are still not, happy with our presence in universities. They think (and some even tell us to our face) that we are all “affirmative action babies.” We all know how horrible the first black and Latino folks who “integrated” (they were just the firsts guests in white canvasses) were treated in these places, but what many whites outside and inside the academy do not know—or pretend NOT no know–is that people of color are still treated as second-class members in the academy. We still do not feel as equal members of the academic club and all the reports on campus racial climate in HWCUs across the nation bear this out. Mr. Scarborough and whites in general, please check out the manifold reports that clearly show how we feel in these places.

Third, Mr. Scarborough and members of the “collective white,” racism (racial domination) is as SYSTEMIC in college campuses as it is in the nation at large. For example, college admissions are based on tests that are not reliable measures of the capabilities and likelihood of success of

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students of color. Faculty are hired based on their records, but no one discusses how race (racism) affects the productivity of whites (positively) and of non-whites (negatively), a situation that gives whites systemic advantages. The statues, names of buildings, and traditions in HWCUs are emblems of whiteness which makes us feel like we do not belong! And most of the localities in which HWCUs are located, reproduce and reinforce whiteness. Please liberal whites reading this post, do what you seldom do: talk to faculty and students of color and they will tell you how hard is to go out at night in their college town; how hard is to deal with campus and city cops; how hard is to go to a bar in your bucolic white town. And although I believe racial domination is accomplished mostly through subtle and institutionalized practices, WE ALL have experienced in college campuses what Dr. Elijah Anderson calls “the nigger moment”; we have been called names, mocked, or harassed in old-racism fashion.

Fourth, classrooms are hostile zones for most of us. If as students we raise concerns about the material used by our professors in the classes (“Professor Blanco, why are you not including African artists and artistic traditions in your WORLD ART HISTORY course?”), we are accused of trying to politicize things (“You folks always want to talk about race!”). If we are professors and dare suggest that racism is as American as apple pie (i.e., that it is structural), white students say we are calling them racist and making them feel bad (“You don’t know ME….I am a good person.”). We are disrespected and unappreciated as professors and suffer in our evaluations because of racism.

Fifth, if Scarborough and other whites asked us open, rather that accusatory questions, such as, “How do you feel in the college in which you work?” they would be surprised. They would hear about how often we experience microaggressions perpetrated by professors, students, staff, and the campus police. They would hear how we feel like most white colleagues (faculty and students) do not understand, care, or appreciate our work.

They would hear about how alienated and tired we are in these institutions.

They would hear about how the racialized stress we endure day in and day out is literally KILLING us. Yes, racism experienced in low but constant intensity is, as the work of David R, Williams clearly shows, a silent killer.

So Mr. Scarborough and whites in America, racism in the academy, like racism in the nation, is indeed systemic! Although it no longer operates primarily the way it did 50 years ago, the new “killing me softly” way in which racial domination is carried out is effective in maintaining the white house WHITE. So please, please, please STOP the racial innocence game; stop saying that you play no part of the American racial game in America because some of your “best friends are black” (you don’t know their names, but they are your very best friends); stop accusing people of color of dividing the academy (NEWSFLASH, we have been divided forever!) and “censoring” you (are you kidding me?); stop proclaiming that because you do not use the N-word and are a “good person,” that this is enough (you still receive the “wages of whiteness” so your claim to racial innocence is not credible)!

Finally, If you want protests on college campuses to cease and want racial peace in America, then admit that race matters, admit that racism is real and systemic, and work with us towards the transformation of society in general and HWCUs in particular. But if you just keep saying “I don’t see race (or racism),” if you continue the white innocence game, then we will continue believing wholeheartedly that you are part of the problem and will keep SHOUTING as loud as we can “No Justice, No Peace!” It is time for you, Mr. Scarborough and whites in America, to step up to the historical plate and, as Spike Lee would say, “Do the right thing!” The ball is on your court.

Eduardo Bonilla-Silva is Professor and Chair of Sociology, Duke University. This post originally appeared on Facebook and is re-printed here with the author’s permission. He is the author of Racism Without Racists. Now in its 4th edition. Bonilla-Silva can be reached at ebs@soc.duke. edu.

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El Sol Latino December 2015

Your community radio station, broadcasting 24/7 from the campus of Springfield Technical Community College

www.wtccfm.org WTCC is your source for music - from salsa to R&R oldies, gospel to jazz, R&B to bluegrass, Motown and more, as well as Ecos del Ritmo, Cantares Latino-Americanos, and Club House Dance Music plus local talk shows with local hosts discussing local issues.

DÍA. NOCHE. EN LÍNEA.

EMPIEZA POR ALGO. DETENTE ANTE NADA. Las clases comienzan el 25 de enero.

MATRICÚLATE AHORA! hcc.edu

¿Qué Pasa en...?

Holyoke Reconocen al Líder Comunitario José Colón

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The show timings for the event are as follows: Friday December 11, 2015 - 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Friday December 11, 2015 - 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm Saturday December 12, 2015 - 11:30 am to 1:00 pm Saturday December 12, 2015 - 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Saturday December 12, 2015 - 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm Sunday December 13, 2015 - 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Sunday December 13, 2015 - 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm

Solicitudes disponibles para Paulo Freire School La escuela Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School ubicada en Holyoke, Massachusetts está aceptando solicitudes para los grados 9, 10, 11 para el otoño de 2016.

Foto por MFR. Diosdado López, Foto por MFR. Diosdado López, presidente de la Familia presidente de la Familia Hispana y Hispana Inc., René Robles tocando el himno nacional de José Colón, Director del Programa Puerto Rico - La Borinqueña - y Papo Morales de Arco Iris en Nueva Esperanza.

El 5 de noviembre la organización La Familia Hispana Inc., llevó a cabo el izamiento la bandera de Puerto Rico frente a la alcaldía de Holyoke. El 28º izamiento de la bandera fue dedicado al reconocido líder comunitario de Holyoke, José Colón por sus 30 años de servicio a favor de la juventud de South Holyoke.

La escuela Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School, una escuela secundaria pública que prepara a los estudiantes para el éxito en la universidad mientras que los inspira a ser ciudadanos activos y efectivos, está localizada en 161 Lower Westfield Road y está en su tercer año de operaciones.

Habrá sesiones informativas abiertas en la escuela el martes, 26 de enero y el jueves, 25 de febrero de 6:00-7:30 PM .

El izamiento de la bandera puertorriqueña en la ciudad fue organizado por Antonio Rodríguez en el 1987 y posteriormente pasó a manos de la Familia Hispana Inc.

Wistariahurst Museum: December Events Nutcracker and Sweets: Friday Evening Friday December 11, 2015 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm Friday, December 11 to Sunday, December 13, The Massachusetts Academy of Ballet will perform seven shows of a very special Holyoke-themed edition of the Nutcracker. This unique interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet is presented through narration and dance, in the historic Music Room at Wistariahurst. Student dancers perform the magical story with a local historical twist and lively choreography.

Children and adults alike will be delighted with the dazzling dancers, sparkling sugarplum fairies, twinkling snowflakes, and nutcracker soldiers.

The show is appropriate for ages 5 and up. Seating is limited and advanced ticket purchases are required. Tickets can be purchased at www. wistariahurst.org. PLEASE NOTE: When reserving tickets, pressing “Submit Your Reservation” will redirect to PayPal and may take a minute. Please do not press this button multiple times for the same transaction.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Holyoke Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and is sponsored by Holyoke Gas and Electric.

Las solicitudes de estudiantes serán aceptadas de todas las familias en el oeste de Massachusetts. Se le dará prioridad a los residentes de Holyoke, Chicopee, West Springfield, Westfield, South Hadley y Northampton, seguido por igual por todas las demás ciudades y pueblos. La fecha límite para solicitar es el 4 de marzo de 2016. Todas las solicitudeses que se incluirán en el sorteo deben ser enviadas por correo a mas tardar el 4 de marzo de 2016. El sorteo será el 10 de marzo de 2016.

Las solicitudes se pueden descargar de la página web de la escuela: paulofreirecharterschool.org o llamando a la escuela al 413-536-3201.

La escuela Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School ofrece un programa de preparación para la universidad de servicio completo con clases pequeñas, instrucción centrada en el estudiante y aprendizaje participativo.

Los estudiantes se gradúan con fuertes bases intelectuales y éticas necesarias para futuros líderes de una sociedad global.

Herencia Latina Pioneer Valley: December Events Event @ Chestnut Middle School- Springfield “Celebración: Film Festival, Food, Families, and Fun” Thursday, December 3, 2015 • 5 :30 p.m.

Jean Canosa Albano, Manager, Springfield City Library; Vanessa Pabón, Community Engagement Director, WGBY Latino Youth Media Institute staff will work with residents to collect oral histories from 4 to 8 people from July 1 to October 1. After production, a film festival will premiere the videos as part of a family event featuring performances, demonstrations, and food ways from the varied aspects of the Springfield Latino community. Sponsor: Springfield City Library.

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Educación / Education

El Sol Latino December 2015

Holyoke Encuesta del idioma hablado en el hogar por LISSA PIERCE BONIFAZ

Pregúntele a Alicia: Alicia recibió su Maestría y Doctorado en Educación Bilingüe y ha trabajado por más de veinte años con los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés como su segunda lengua (ELL). Habla español como su segundo idioma y ha vivido en España, Ecuador y Guatemala.

Pregunta: He recibido esta “Encuesta del idioma” de la escuela de mi hijo. No estoy segura cómo responder. Si le digo a la escuela que mi hijo habla español en la casa y que su inglés no es muy bueno ¿no es cierto que lo pondrán en un programa separado donde solamente hay estudiantes que hablan español?

No se cuantos años estaremos en las escuelas de Holyoke y quiero que mi hijo aprenda inglés los más posible mientras está fuera de Puerto Rico. ¿Cómo puedo asegurarme de que aprenda inglés y no español todo el día?

Respuesta: Entiendo su dilema y me he preguntado cuál sería la mejor solución para los padres que no tienen la opción de quedarse en las escuelas de Holyoke para siempre. Ya que soy una defensora de la educación bilingüe, se me hace difícil no decirle mis preferencias personales. Sin embargo, puedo

decirle que las escuelas públicas de Massachusetts están bajo un mandato de “English-Only” que practicamente prohíbe el uso de español en los salones de clase (a menos que se use exlusivamente para propósitos de clarificar).

Esto significa que se supone que un/a maestro/a solamente hable inglés con sus estudiantes. Si los estudiantes no entienden, el maestro puede usar español para clarificar el contenido que se ha cubierto. Es una lástima que los/as maestros/as bilingües no tengan la libertad de escoger el idioma que van a usar con sus estudiantes, pero por lo menos esto le debe asegurar a usted que el inglés es el idioma principal de instrucción, no importa si su hijo esté en clases de Inglés como Segundo Idioma (ESL) o en sus clases regulares.

Es importante que su hijo reciba el apoyo que necesita para poder participar en las clases regulares. Al no decirle a la escuela que su hijo habla otro idioma en la casa, es como “echarlo al área mas profunda de la piscina sin un salvavidas.” No podrá “flotar” sólo por estar inmerso en el inglés. Necesitará coger una o dos clases de inglés al día para poder entender lo que está oyendo a su alrededor. Puede que también cualifique para tener ayuda como estudiante de Inglés como Segundo Idioma en sus clases de matemáticas, ciencias, estudios sociales y artes del lenguaje. Sin embargo, el primer paso es dejarle saber a la escuela que su hijo habla otro idioma en el hogar.

¿Por qué no va a la escuela y averigúa quiénes son las maestras de Inglés como Segundo Idioma (ESL) y quién es la Coordinadora del programa? Es Los reglamentos del Departamento de Educación Primaria y Secundaria de Massachusetts exigen que todas las escuelas muy importante que haga contacto directo con las determinen los idiomas que se hablan en los hogares de los estudiantes para así identificar sus necesidades específicas maestras y los administradores que estarán trabajando relacionadas con el idioma. Esta información es esencial para que las escuelas puedan proveer instrucción que todos los con su hijo. Usted tiene mucha información sobre su hijo estudiantes puedan aprovechar. Si en su hogar se habla otro idioma que no sea inglés, se requiere que el Distrito evalúe que podría ayudarlos a diseñar un plan para su a su hijo más a fondo. Ayúdenos a cumplir con este importante requisito respondiendo a las siguientes preguntas. instrucción en inglés. Por ejemplo, usted les podría decir Gracias por su ayuda. sobre sus años de escuela en Puerto Rico y si su hijo ha Información del estudiante cogido clases de inglés anteriormente en la escuela.

Nombre

Segundo nombre

País de nacimiento

/ / Fecha de nacimiento (mm/dd/aaaa)

F Sexo

Apellido

M

/ / Fecha de matriculación inicial en CUALQUIER escuela de EE.UU. (mm/dd/aaaa)

Información de la escuela / /20 ______ Fecha de comienzo en la escuela nueva (mm/dd/aaaa)

Nombre de la escuela y ciudad anterior

Preguntas para los padres/encargados

¿Cuál es el idioma natal del padre/la madre/los encargados? (encierre en un círculo) (madre / padre / encargado)

Grado actual

¿Qué idioma(s) se habla(n) con su hijo? (incluya parientes -abuelos, tíos, tías, etc. - y encargados del cuidado) frecuentemente / siempre

(madre / padre / encargado) frecuentemente / siempre

infrecuentemente / algunas veces / infrecuentemente / algunas veces /

¿Cuál fue el primer idioma que entendió y habló su hijo?

¿Qué idioma usa usted principalmente con su hijo?

¿Qué otros idiomas sabe su hijo? (encierre en un círculo todo lo que corresponda) habla / lee / escribe

¿Qué idiomas usa su hijo? (encierre uno en un círculo)

habla / lee / escribe ¿Requerirá usted la información impresa de la escuela en su idioma natal?

Sí No Firma del padre/la madre/encargado:

X

frecuentemente / siempre

infrecuentemente / algunas veces /

infrecuentemente / algunas veces / frecuentemente / siempre ¿Requerirá usted un intérprete/traductor en reuniones de padres y maestros?

Sí No / Fecha de hoy:

/20 (mm/dd/aaaa)

Algo que he aprendido en mis años haciendo investigaciones y enseñando es que mientras mas años un estudiante haya pasado aprendiendo en su primer idioma, mas fácil le será aprender inglés. Por ejemplo, los que llegan aquí a los quince años y han estudiando hasta el noveno grado en Puerto Rico, tienen una base mas sólida en su primer idioma, y por lo tanto, les es mas fácil transferir esas destrezas al inglés. Los niños que entran a kindergarten a los cinco años de edad en Holyoke puede que les sea más difícil aprender inglés ya que todavia no tienen literacia en su primer idioma. Por esta razón, es importante que su niño lea y escriba en español, aun cuando sólo sea en la casa. Irónicamente, su inglés va a mejorar a medida que lee y escribe en español mientras aprende inglés en la escuela.

Es importante que usted sepa cuales son los derechos que tiene su hijo en el sistema escolar. Debido a que a veces puede parecer abrumador, espero me envíen sus preguntas sobre la escuela de su hijo/a. Haré lo mejor posible para proveerles la mejor información.

Envíen sus preguntas a Pregúntele a Alicia a manuelfrau@gmail.com

Lissa Pierece Bonifaz tiene un PhD en Educación Bilingüe, Currículo e Instrucción del University of Tezas at Ausitn y reside en Amherst.

Música / Music Heshima Moja – Music and Politics

by MANUEL FRAU RAMOS

Heshima Moja was born in Springfield, MA in 1970 from a Boricua mother and an Italian father. He attended the Springfield Public Schools until 9th grade when his parents decided that it would be better for him to attend a different High School. He moved from an urban and diverse demographic school system to Agawam High School, a school system and a town whose racial makeup was almost white.

Growing up in Springfield, a product of the hip-hop generation, he had aligned himself since a very young age with African American history and culture.

He began playing percussion at the age of 9 or 10, listening primarily to West African Music as a source of musical reference. His early music mentors were older African American musicians and he was exposed to a cadre of social and political conscious hip-hop artists. This environment had a strong influence on him and helped Heshima develop a very strong bond with black culture, history and especially with music.

When he arrived in Agawam, he quickly found out that the town’s middle class value system and the white dominant culture school environment were foreign to him and indifferent to his cultural background. “I was extremely unhappy there,” Heshima once wrote.

By the age of 15, he was feeling increasingly Credit - Heshima Moja Facebook Page. Heshima Moja culturally isolated in his CREDIT: Nina Subin new school. The kid from Springfield, who already had read the autobiography of Malcolm X and had been studying African/African American history, began to be more confrontational in school and even at home regarding race relationships.

During his sophomore year, waiting to turn 16 and planning to drop out of school to play music for a living, he met a man who would change the course of his life, a music teacher at Agawam High School named Steve Files (a middle aged white man who had himself been an aspiring musician turned English teacher and later music teacher).

Steve Files had heard about Heshima. One day he saw him in the hallway and “ordered” him into his classroom and told him to sing something while he accompanied him on the piano. After only a few minutes into this test, he signed Heshima up for his elite vocal jazz group as well as the school jazz band.

Around this time, Heshima also met Margo Poulin, an English and theatre teacher.

Ms. Poulin “invited him” to act in many of the school theatre productions, as well as compose incidental music for her productions. She took him to Broadway with her own money, and introduced him to literature way above the level of the school curriculum.

Heshima enrolled at Holyoke Community College as a Music major. During his HCC years he became more entrenched in politics and social justice issues, and came in contact with well-known political and intellectual activists from the Five Colleges area who inspired him to become a political activist. Heshima became so deeply involved in politics that his studies took a back seat. By this time, he was playing professionally with regional artists, travelling, teaching music to beginners, while also keeping up with his political readings.

In February of 1990 he moved to New York City where he started attending jam sessions and meeting jazz musicians. However, as he was looking for his place in the jazz world, he found something else – his search for his own identity. He became an avid visitor to The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture founded by Arthur Schomburg, of Puerto Rican origins.

His name - Heshima Moja- is a Swahili name that means “the respectful one”. HIs godmother, who was from Ghana, was the person who named him.

During his years in the Big Apple, he became more interested in learning about Puerto Rico culture and the Nuyorican experience. He began frequenting places like the Nuyorican Poet’s Café and began reading about Pedro Albizu Campos, Ramón Emeterio Betances, Eugenio María de Hostos, Julia de Burgos, José de Diego, and listening closely to the music of Rafael Hernández.

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While he was learning more about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans he also realized that he was in fact more familiar and comfortable with Africans/African Americans and Afro-Caribbean’s cultural and political agenda.

At the beginning of the 1990s, after 21 years of living in New York City, mainly in Washington Heights and Harlem, Heshima returned to the Pioneer Valley. He reconnected with his friend and well-known drummer Kevin Sharpe. This musical relationship eventually lead to the beginning of what is now a 20-year musical association with the internationally renowned bassist/composer Avery Sharpe (who is Kevin’s brother). In Sharpe’s album “Extended Family II: Thoughts of My Ancestors” (1995) Heshima performed with him as a second bassist and vocalist.

Around this time Heshima also began teaching at the Artist Collective in Harford, founded by Photo by MFR. Heshima Moja Jazz icon Jackie McLean and his wife Dollie along with Cheryl Smith. He also began working with another very important musician at that time: Owen Brown Jr., a Philadelphia based violinist, tap dancer, wholistic medicine practitioner and vocalist.

In Philadelphia, he met some of the great instrumentalists and vocalists that came out of Philly and were instrumental in the founding of the Neo-Soul Movement. He describes his Philadelphia experience as one that “pushed me to grow personally, politically, and artistically” and where he “dug deeper into African diasporic spirituality, political movements, and became deeply involved in the movement to free Journalist Mumia Abu Jamal.”

Since his high school years, Heshima has evolved into a dynamic vocalist, multi instrumentalist, (bass is his signature instrument), songwriter/composer, arranger and producer who pushes the boundaries of contemporary music by blending influences such as Jazz, Soul, and Latin Music.

Heshima has shared the stage and/or recorded, with some of the greatest names in the music industry including Patti Labelle, Charles Neville, La India, Allan Bentley Gumbs, QuestLove, Paoli Mejías, Houston Person, Marion Meadows, James Carter, William Cepeda and Owen “Fiidla” Brown, just to name a few.

He has written/composed music for film scores throughout Latin America as well as music for Nickelodeon, Teen Network TV, PBS, and theatre companies throughout the Northeast.

Heshima released his debut album, The Awakening for Souljourn Music Group in 2005. It combines classic jazz and Latin flavors “with youthful fire and originality.”

The album featured some of jazz’s best-known voices, including Avery Sharpe, Marc Purecelli, and tenor Charles Lanford.

His second production, co-produced with Nick Caudle, Round and Round, was released in 2010.

In addition to keeping busy performing with his Ofrecimiento Ensemble, Heshima has been a tireless social activist, educator and promoter of Afro Latin cultures.

Among some of the projects or organizations that he is or has been involved with are, Enchanted Circle Theater (Artist in Residence), Teatro V!da (Music Director), Inhale Music/Exhale Life (Founder and Music Programmer), Explorations in Puerto Rican Culture for the Springfield Schools (Artist in Residence) and Community Music School of Springfield (Teacher). He is a member of the board of the following organizations – The Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Latino Advisory Board of WGBY, First Generation Theater Company, and The Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy.

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Literatura / Literature

El Sol Latino December 2015

El Diario de Mi Niña

más protegida... Si en aquel momento supiera lo que ahora sabe... Hubiese dormido tranquila, sabiendo que no había nada que temer...

por MARIBEL TORRES MALDONADO | maribeltorres11@yahoo.com Una etapa que recuerda claramente de su niñez fue cuando comenzaron a enviarla a casa de su abuela materna todos los fines de semana, vacaciones de verano y Navidad. Nadie le preguntó si quería estar allí, ni cómo se sentía.

Realmente, nadie la conocía. Era muy miedosa, no entendía el porqué sentía y escuchaba cosas que nadie más sentía ni veía. Su abuelo se suicidó en esa casa, y eso le causaba terror, sobre todo por las noches. Todavía recuerda claramente la melodía del reloj de la alcaldía, las campanas de la iglesia y las canciones de la vellonera del negocio cercano. Ya más tarde en la noche, se reunían algunos jóvenes al final de la calle, en la esquina, a tocar tambores y pleneras.

Pero eso nadie se lo explicó. Los adultos a su alrededor tampoco lo sabían.

Algo curioso que vivió fue cuando un domingo, luego de salir de la iglesia, su abuela la llevó con ella a un templo espiritista. Por más que lo ha intentado, no recuerda exactamente qué pasó allí, cosa que le parece rara, pero así es...

Creció llena de temores, complejos e inseguridades, a pesar de ser buena hija, buena estudiante y buena niña. Son cosas que no comprende, pero ahora entiende que los adultos a su alrededor hicieron lo mejor que pudieron; ellos no sabían nada más. Tal vez tenía que ser así. De todas formas, esas vivencias son parte del ser humano que es actualmente. Esa es parte de la historia de mi niña...

El Diario de Mi Niña © (extracto) Pasaban horas tocando, y ella escuchando. Pues bien, cuando comenzó a quedarse en casa de su abuela, le tocó dormir en el cuarto del fondo y luego la cambiaron de habitación. Precisamente al cuarto donde murió su abuelo... Una vez allí, las cosas fueron más difíciles aún. La más miedosa de las niñas durmiendo en el cuarto donde su abuelo se quitó la vida.

Las noches no eran precisamente su momento favorito. Luego de rezar el rosario con su abuela, como todas las noches, era hora de dormir. Claro, su abuela dormía tranquilamente con su pastillita...

EVENTOS GRATIS DE APOYO PARA FAMILIAS

Invertir en la Universidad es una

decision Familiar!

Mientras ella permanecía con los ojos abiertos pensando que el fantasma de su abuelo se le aparecería en cualquier momento. Eso nunca pasó... Pero podía ver claramente cómo se movía la mecedora de la abuela... solita... ¡Qué muchas noches pasó escuchando todos los ruidos de la casa, los del pueblo, los tambores, la vellonera! Y la mecedora mueve que mueve... Las noches de luna llena eran las mejores, pues su luz alumbraba directamente su rostro, y se sentía más segura,

Miércoles, Diciembre 16, 2015 3:00 - 6:00 pm La Cafeteria en Holyoke High School 500 Beech Street, Holyoke, MA Únase con nosotros para aprender

Jeroton Clown

El proceso financiero, financiero, con atención personalizada, personalizada, Comparta con estudiantes universitarios y asiste feria de universidades 

Aprende sobre ayuda federal para estudiantes con el programa (FAFSA) y otros programas financieros disponibles para estudiantes. estudiantes.

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Hay lugar en la Universidad para todos! todos! Ven y conozca a los representantes de colegios y universidades en Massachusetts.

Admisión es gratis incluyendo cena familiar Rifas gratis; iPads, certificados de Big Y y mucho mas!

Music, Games, Balloons and Much More...

For More information call: Jerry & Brenda 413-557-8273 • 413-210-5458 jero4817@yahoo.com

A Collaborative Project brought to you by: Avanza 2 College, Bay Path University, Connections.

Enlace de Familia and Holyoke High School

For additional information please contact: ecardona@baypath.edu or 413-565-1073

Salud / Health

El Sol Latino December 2015

15

Vacúnese AHORA contra el Influenza SPRINGFIELD - Si piensa que está protegido contra la influenza este año porque se vacunó el año pasado o en una fecha anterior, piénselo de nuevo. No solo las cepas del virus contra las que va dirigida la vacuna son diferentes cada año, sino que también la inmunidad que esta provee se debilita con el tiempo.

De acuerdo con la Dra. Sarah Haessler de la División de enfermedades infecciosas (Infectious Disease Division) de Baystate Medical Center, un nuevo estudio ha publicado recientemente informes que indican que las vacunas anuales contra la influenza ofrecen protección durante seis meses.

Los hallazgos se basaron en una investigación de más de 1,700 estadounidenses de todas las edades que fueron vacunados contra la influenza y a quienes se les dio seguimiento durante cuatro temporadas.

diferencia) para quedar completamente protegidos contra esta.

“Debido a que estas dosis deben aplicarse al menos con cuatro semanas de diferencia, es una buena idea comenzar el proceso de vacunación ahora mismo, ya que en realidad nunca se sabe si la temporada de la influenza llegara antes de tiempo o cuándo llegará,” mencionó Klatte.

Como una nota especial para las personas mayores de 65 años de edad, hay una nueva vacuna de dosis alta que contiene cuatro veces la cantidad de antígenos que la vacuna común contra la influenza, y se relaciona con una respuesta inmunitaria más fuerte que puede resultar en una mayor protección contra la influenza.

Como en años anteriores, los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, o CDC) recomiendan que toda persona de seis meses en adelante se vacune a menos que su médico recomiende lo contrario debido a condiciones preexistentes.

De acuerdo con el CDC, hoy en día circulan comúnmente tres tipos de virus de influenza entre las personas: virus de la influenza A (H1N1), virus de la influenza A (H3N2) y virus de la influenza B. Todas las vacunas de 20152016 están hechas para proteger contra estos tres virus.

La vacunación es particularmente importante para aquellos que corren mayor riesgo de sufrir complicaciones graves debido a la influenza. Esto incluye a los niños pequeños, las personas de edad avanzada, personas con enfermedades del corazón y mujeres embarazadas. La neumonía es la complicación más importante que puede afectar tanto a niños como adultos de alto riesgo. La influenza también puede empeorar condiciones crónicas como enfermedades del corazón y asma.

A lo largo de los años se ha publicado ampliamente que las personas alérgicas a los huevos no deben recibir la vacuna contra la influenza. Ahora existen vacunas contra la influenza que no contienen proteínas de huevos, como la Flublok. También existen otras vacunas contra la influenza aprobadas por la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de los Estados Unidos (Food and Drug Administration, o FDA) que no contienen proteínas de huevos, y que están aprobadas para las personas de 18 años de edad y mayores.

Consulte con su médico para ver cuál es la vacuna que más le conviene.

La Dra. Haessler señaló que el momento de vacunarse es ahora mismo: “Ya hemos tenido algunos casos documentados de influenza en el área. Así que la mejor estrategia es vacunarse temprano, ya que su cuerpo tarda unas dos semanas en fabricar los anticuerpos contra el virus de la influenza”. Añadió que la temporada de influenza normalmente ocurre entre los meses de octubre y mayo y por lo general tiene un punto culminante en enero o febrero.

De acuerdo con el Dr. Michael Klatte de la División de Enfermedades Infecciosas Pediátricas de Baystate Children’s Hospital, vacunar a sus hijos contra la influenza es lo más importante que usted puede hacer para protegerlos a ellos y a otros miembros de su familia, quienes pueden estar expuestos al virus de la influenza si su hijo se infecta en la escuela o en otro lugar.

Los niños entre 6 meses y 8 años de edad pueden necesitar dos dosis de la vacuna contra la influenza (aplicadas al menos con cuatro semanas de

Holyoke Medical Center Receives Baby-Friendly Designation HOLYOKE, MA - November 16, 2015 - Baby-Friendly USA announced that Holyoke Medical Center has received designation as a Baby-Friendly birth facility as part of the Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative. Holyoke Medical Center is the first, and currently only, hospital to receive this prestigious recognition in the Pioneer Valley. This international award recognizes birth facilities that offer breastfeeding mothers the information, confidence, and skills needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.

Holyoke Medical Center has been working towards this designation since 2011, when the hospital made major clinical practice changes that collectively support a mother breastfeeding, including educating all maternity staff, in-patient mothers through prenatal care to after discharge, and at the community level, offices for midwifery, obstetrics, and pediatrics.

“We are very proud to have achieved this Baby-Friendly Designation, which is the result of our Birthing Center’s dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff, who provide the gold standard of care to our patients,” said Spiros

Además, si le teme a las agujas, existe una vacuna en forma de aerosol nasal llamada FluMist. Sin embargo, ésta no puede usarse en niños menores de 2 años de edad o adultos mayores de 49, ni tampoco en personas con asma, mujeres embarazadas y aquellas que tienen un sistema inmunitario comprometido. Para los que anteriormente han sentido dolor en el brazo luego de una inyección intramuscular de la vacuna contra la influenza, existe un inyector a presión (jet inyector) con una aguja muy corta que inyecta la vacuna justo debajo de la piel. Puede usarse en individuos entre los 18 y los 64 años de edad.

Para obtener más información sobre Baystate Medical Center, visite baystatehealth.org/bmc o para obtener más información sobre Baystate Children’s Hospital, visite baystatehealth.org/bch.

Hatiras, President and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center and Valley Health Systems, Inc. “Education and support are critical tools in such an endeavor and we are committed to leading the way.”

As part of this five year designation, Holyoke Medical Center will establish a data tracking system to collect and maintain statistics related to Baby-Friendly USA’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and will report on this information annually. The aim is to improve - through optimal feeding - the nutritional status, growth and development as well as the survival of infants and young children.

Baby-Friendly USA, Inc. is the U.S. authority for the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a global program sponsored by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative encourages and recognizes hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

There are more than 20,000 designated Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers worldwide. Currently there are 305 active Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers in the United States, including seven in Massachusetts. The “Baby-Friendly” designation is given after a rigorous on-site survey is completed. The award is maintained by continuing to practice the Ten Steps as demonstrated by quality processes. For more information on the U.S. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative visit www.babyfriendlyusa.org.

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El Sol Latino December 2015

¡Celebrando 40 años de buena música y mucho más! Únase a nosotros para gran arte de todas partes del mundo

¡Ahorre un 15% * de los precios generales de entradas al comprar tres eventos o más!

Las entradas para los jóvenes de 17 años o menos comienzan en $10.

DECEMBER 2015

FEBRERO 2016

Fine Arts Center Concert Hall Cherish the Ladies have shared timeless Irish traditions with audiences worldwide for over twenty-five years. For this program, the Ladies put their signature mark on classic carols with unique Celtic instrumentation, beautiful harmonies and spectacular step dancing.

Jueves, 11 de febrero a las 7:30 pm Fine Arts Center Concert Hall Un ciclo de canciones para su cuarteto que en esta ocasión será incrementado con un big band de 12 músicos. El trabajo explora la experiencia de los puertorriqueños que se han trasladado a Estados Unidos continentales, en particular a la ciudad de Nueva York. Está inspirado en una serie de entrevistas que Zenón llevó a cabo con Nuyoricans. Zenón es el saxofonista más celebrado de su generación. Ha estado nominado varias veces al Grammy y es un Guggenheim y un MacArthur “Genius” Fellow.

CHERISH THE LADIES | CELTIC CHRISTMAS MIGUEL ZENÓN Y Jueves, 10 de diciembre - 7:30 pm SU IDENTIDADES BIG BAND

Cherish the Ladies ha compartido inolvidables tradiciones irlandesas con el público alrededor del mundo por mas de veinticinco años. En este programa, ellas le pondrán su sello distintivo a villancicos clásicos con instrumentos Celtas, bellas armonías y step dancing espectacular.

Holyoke Public Library ~ A

L I B R A RY

I N

A

PA R K ~

¡Hay Mucho Más!

Visit fineartscenter.com para ver la lista completa de las actividades.

Para boletos, llame al 413-545-2511 o al 800-999-UMAS o visite fineartscenter.com (*Precios varían A y B)